The TIP provides venues so the voices of First Nations people can be heard. One of the consequences of racism against First Nations people has been the silencing of their voices, and the eagerness of Euro- Americans to speak for them, thus robbing them of their own freedom of speech.
The “Native American Experience” has been filtered through the lenses of a foreign culture that does not have the right, and lack the ability to speak to the most fundamental realities of Native experience.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

A preview of the Michigan State University student documentary about the effects of sulfide mining and the destruction of sacred Eagle Rock by mining giant Rio Tinto/Kennecott MineralsLocated in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Eagle Rock has been sacred to the Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) people for thousands of years

This group from Michigan State University is preparing a documentary about Eagle Rock and the evils of sulfide mining.It was an honor to share my many hours of raw video with MSU student Samantha "Sam" Harris for use in this upcoming documentary.I believe there will be a short and long version about the story of sacred Eagle Rock that has been desecrated by Rio Tinto/Kennecott Minerals.The Ojibwa (Anishinaabe) have held spiritual ceremonies at Eagle Rock for thousands of years.Located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.), Eagle Rock is one of the tribe's most sacred sites.The Native American spirits at sacred Eagle Rock have been offended and injured by the bulldozers and explosives at the hands of an evil corporation.Eagle Rock has been desecrated by international mining Goliath Rio Tinto - that has been accused of global crimes including being complicit in war crimes, crimes against humanity, bribery and countless other violations of the rights and lives of Indigenous Peoples.Eagle Rock is located on the Yellow Dog Plains in northern Marquette County not far from Lake Superior.In fact, Rio Tinto and its Kennecott Minerals had the unmitigated gall to name the mine the Eagle Project - then bulldozed the area around sacred Eagle Rock and will dynamite through Eagle Rock for the portal its underground mine tunnel.The Ojibwa have treaty rights to Eagle Rock and the Yellow Dog Plains - but the state ignored the tribe's concerns and leased the land to Kennecott Minerals (Rio Tinto subsidiary).Sacred Eagle Rock has been turned into an industrial site - with the complicity of nearly all of Michigan's lawmakers (Democrat and Republican), who have accepted money from Rio Tinto or its minions.Sulfuric Acid is a byproduct of sulfide mining - and untold billions of gallons of that ultra-toxic liquid will be created by this mine and the others that are scheduled to be built.Sulfide "Acid" Mining in northern Michigan will destroy millions of acres of forestland and other areas as dozens of mines are planned if the first mine begins sucking nickel and copper from beneath Salmon Trout River on the Yellow Dog Plains.The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) hid a report that states there is a significant chance the river will collapse into the mine thus sending sulfuric acid into Lake Superior - then in an unprecedented move the state agency went into business with the mine owners.The DNR is supposed to act as an environmental watchdog to the mine owners they have gone into business with.That is only one of many examples of conflict of interest and possibly crimes.Michigan politicians created a new law to allow Sulfide "Acid" Mining that intentionally opens the door to uranium mining in the U.P.One of the last accessible pristine areas in the United States, the U.P. is in grave danger of turning into a toxic wasteland.The northern Michigan media, starved for advertising, has accepted large sums from the mining company - and has ignored many questionable and likely criminal acts by lawmakers and others.A judge would not allow a defense by two Ojibwa and a local resident, who were arrested for trespassing while trying to protect Eagle Rock.The Judge (and lawmakers) apparently fear jury nullification of the trespassing law.As it has done thousands of times before, Rio Tinto has bought all the watchdogs - lawmakers, state agencies, the media, and even the judicial system.Among the numerous groups and people fighting to preserve Michigan’s beautiful forests and plains are the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (with support from many tribes), Save the Wild U.P., the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and the Cedar Tree Institute.Another group fighting to protect and save for Michigan's pristine lands is Oshkinawe-Ogichidaag Akiing (New Warriors for the Earth), a Native and non-Native environmental organization “grounded in Anishinaabe traditions with a mission to educate and empower our communities to take action on mining and other social-ecological issues facing our communities.”These groups are operating on a shoestring budget. May those who care help us.May the Creator help us.To be pointed in the right direction call Greg at 1-906-401-0109